[Ardose]

I have been around a lot of people from economically depressed areas. Their neighborhoods tend to be a breeding ground for crime and drug abuse. Something I notice to be desperately lacking in these places is treatment for mental health issues. The people who live in these areas are plagued with depression, psychosis, a ton of personality issues and other problems. A lot these problems could have been screened for and treatment provided while they were still in school. But, there just aren't any resources to do so.

If our government would invest a lot more into providing mental health treatment to the masses instead of building billion dollar weapons that we don't even need, I think our society in general would be a much happier and safer place. Locking people up who abuse drugs or have behavior problems may make a community feel a little safer. But, that is mostly an illusion. Treating addiction like a disease and helping people get off the illegal drugs would make a far greater impact on the drug industry as well as on other crime. Violent crimes are often the result of people with mental illness acting out their anger. Drug users are often people who are self medicating. These people have few if any options to get treatment for their problems. The current system for treating the mental health issues of the poor is underfunded and often provides substandard treatment. I think our country has a mental health crisis that our government just doesn't want to address.

That's my soap box speech. What do you think about the problem?

[catsrhelm]

I think the problem lies within society as a whole. Mental health issues still have a stigma. It's like if you don't talk about it, it will go away. Anyone who deals with these issues know that is not true.

[MotownJohnny]

Oh, absolutely. And it's not just in the poor areas, middle class people, rural areas all face problems ranging from a horribly disorganized system to paying for care.